The Yagasala Poojas for the second phase of Maha Samprokshanam for the main temples of Sri Ranganathaswamy temple at Srirangam, near here, have begun, temple officials said.
The poojas began amid chanting of vedic mantras and prapandham (Tamil Hymns) by the temple Veda Adyapakars and Prabandha Adhikaris at the grand 1000-Pillar mandapam where nine 'Homa Kundams' had been set up, Temple Executive officer Jayaraman said.
The entire temple had been renovated at a cost of more than Rs.45 crore,with the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department contributing Rs.10 crore and collecting the balance from various donors who remained anonymous.
The Mahasamprokshanam, which was originally scheduled to be held on November 23, had been advanced to November 18 following requests from local people and temple priests.
Describing the renovation work as "complete and professional", an official of the temple said all the sub-temples had been restored to their original structure as described in the temple manual and in consultation with some tantriks from Kerala.The dilapidated giant wooden doors had been replaced.
Seperate homa kundam had been erected at the Ranganayaki temple also.
The first yagasala puja in the temple began at 6PM yesterday and will be followed by successive rounds of pujas to be carried out by the temple priest till November 18 when the consecration would be performed after Poornahoothi (completion of Yagasala poojas).
The samprokshanam for all the 10 temple gopurams and five main 'sannidhis' would be carried out simultaneously at 8.45 am on Wednesday,Jayaraman said.
The Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam is described as the first and foremost among the 108 Vaishnava temples in the country. It is also popularly known as 'bhooloka vaikuntam' (heaven on earth).
The consecration of the temple is being held in two phases due to its gigantic size. The first phase of consecration for 43 upasannidhis and 11 gopurams was held on September 9, 2015.
